Venus Trapped in Mars Sports and Lifestyle Blog Dallas

16 October 2013

Their, There and They're

In no way shape or form is it acceptable to use the words their, there and they're incorrectly. I can't tell you how many times a day I receive an email from a coworker, see a Facebook status update from a BUSINESS or read a text message from an adult with a college education using these words incorrectly. Do they have any idea how stupid this makes them look? Are they not proofreading, or do you think they really don't know how to use their, there and they're correctly?

I do a lot of hiring and firing for the company I used to work for in Tennessee and I would NEVER hire someone who improperly used these words. For the record, I catch this mistake every single time I see it, and I bet I am not the only one. Grammar is incredibly important in the workplace. You are representing your company everyday, and your grammar reflects not only you, but your entire company.

You may not have thought anyone was paying attention, but they are. Here is how to use their, there and they're correctly, in the event you don't know how...

There- use there when referring to a place, whether it be concrete or abstract. There is also used with the verb, to be (have, has, had, be, am, is... etc.) to indicate the existence of something, or to mention something for the first time.

EXAMPLES: "I am headed there now" or "There must be some sort of explanation why she used their when referring to the building over there" or "With grammar like that, there is just no place for you in my company."

Their-  use their to indicate possession. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun belongs to them. 

EXAMPLE: "That's their problem they can't figure out how to use proper grammar, not mine." or "Due to poor grammar, Seth and Julie were relieved of their duties with the company." 

They're-  is a contraction of the words they and are. It is not used as a modifier, only as a subject (who or what does the action) and verb (the action itself). Best bet here is to read the sentence back to yourself, and if you can properly replace they're with the words they are, you have used it correctly. 

EXAMPLE: "They're (or THEY ARE) so dumb it hurts my heart just thinking about it." or "I'm so glad that they're (or THEY ARE) going to let go of Stacey, she can't figure out grammar to save her life. Bless her heart." 

My work here is done. I better not see anymore incorrect uses of their, there and they're or I will flip the F out on you.

For tomorrow's lesson, we will be talking about your and you're. 
If your grammar is terrible, you're mistaken if you think we will be pals! 
LOL!

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Venus Trapped in Mars

43 comments :

  1. this and "your" and "you're" or "to" and "too" just about drive me nuts, tell 'em girl.

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  2. Incorrect grammar drives me beyond nuts, and these 3 words are constant repeat offenders. I do a lot of recruiting for the firm I work for, and students send me thank you notes/emails all the time and spell the name of the company WRONG. I'm sorry, but if you want the job, at least learn to spell our name right. Instant removal from the potential candidate list. Sorry not sorry.

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  3. Yes! Absolutely. I can't understand people in their twenties who somehow still haven't learned the correct uses for this.

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  4. God bless you for this post. Every morning when I scroll through Facebook, I am appalled at how many people still don't know the difference. Thank you so much for writing this post.

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  5. Preach it, sister. I know the English language is overly complicated, but when you've studied it for 12+ years it should be common sense by now. If people knew that they could potentially not get a job because of bad grammar, maybe they would take the 2 seconds to learn the rule.

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  6. Incorrect grammar REALLY bothers me! I correct everything in my head (like my ex who used to text your WRONG all the time - probs why he is an EX). hahaha. Also, can't wait for this link-up! I love Halloween!

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  7. All too often I see these happening in blogs, discussion posts, and emails at work - I cringe. As much as we talk about it, it won't stop happening.

    This Halloween linkup is going to be fun- time to revisit the sluttiest of slutty costumes!

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  8. the best is when people are flipping out in FB statuses and using them all wrong. mostly your/you're. effing kills me. I'm like, uh no one can take YOUR rants seriously when YOU'RE an idiot.

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  9. This editor commends you :) You go, girl.

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  10. This annoys me to no end. And no idea you did the hiring and firing! You're kind if a big deal. See what I did there with you're?

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  11. You should do a complete series on homonyms. And then let's talk about properly conjugating verb tenses. And then using the words "should have" instead of "should of". And I could keep going, because grammar mistakes drive me crazy, but I think you get the point. :) This is just great.

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  12. I don't like being that girl that comments on every single one of your posts but this really speaks to me. I don't care how intelligent you are, as soon as I see "I liked there presentation today," you're an idiot. Even worse if I accidentally typo a "your" instead of "you're"... then I hate myself for the next 5 minutes.

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  13. This GETS ALL OVER ME! I can't stand it. Also, when someone asks "weather or not I'm going"... all I can think of are snarky remarks.

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  14. I'm a grammar nazi. Betsy (Musings of a Museum Fanatic) used the wrong one of these and I made her fix it immediately before I even read the rest of the post. I cannot help myself.
    The one that drives me the most crazy is the incorrect use of I versus Me when you're talking about yourself and another person. Most people don't understand the rules on this one and I see it in blog posts at least once a day. "Kevin went with Betsy and I to the store" NO. Betsy and me. Betsy and myself. Change the sentence around. Anything but 'I', that is not the correct use!

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  15. I'm not very good at grammar, but only like the really hard stuff, not basic, IMO, stuff like this! Come on!
    Also, can't wait for the linkup! It looks so fun!

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  16. I always notice there, their, they're mistakes. along with your//you're, and to//too. it's really not that hard people!

    I'm also very excited for the Halloween link-up!

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  17. Seriously, this one bothers me but the YOUR and YOU'RE is soooo soooo soooo soooo soooo much worse. I know a TEACHER blogger that misuses YOUR.. I don't get it..??!! She's a TEACHER... AND while we're on the topic when you are referring to any word that begins with a vowel you use AN instead of A.. Again, this teacher makes this mistake and I can't sleep at night! But really, good idea for a post even though it's quite sad that you have to explain what the differences between their, there and they're are. I am a grammar nazi.. if I misspell a word in a text I always send a correction text.

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  18. LOL. That totally bugs me too. I was going to bring up Your and You're as well but I saw you did that too:)

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  19. I'm pretty sure I break into a sweat everytime I have to use their, there, or they're because I'm convinced I'll end up getting it wrong.

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  20. AMEN!!!!! Literally this is my biggest pet peeve. Bad grammar makes you look like an idiot. I love the little saying: "Grammar: the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit!"

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  21. add your and you're to the list while you're at it! UGH. dealing with idiots.

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  22. Preach, sister! I can't deal with that stuff. In my fifth grade class, those words were called FOREVER WORDS because they are words you needed to remember...forever. Looks like people forgot.

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  23. I love this! People mistaking these is one of my biggest pet peeves!

    Kristin
    crumbsandcurls.blogspot.com

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  24. so i love taylor kinney (chicago fire/vampire diaries) and yesterday, i saw a tweet from him and he totally screwed up the your/you're thing. that made him less hot and i don't love him as much. le sigh.

    -kathy
    Vodka and Soda

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  25. I really love the 'to' and 'too' mix ups. Or people who write me work emails that say things like '2' and 'abt'. THIS IS WORK PEOPLE. I'm not your text buddy. Grrrrrrrrrrr

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  26. Another good one is 'then' and 'than' or 'affect' and 'effect'. It drives me bonkers when incorrect grammar is used. I always proofread my comments, e-mails, posts, etc. a couple times before I post it because I don't want to be a hypocrite. But the few times it slips past me I will comment on my own post and correct myself and call myself an idiot ha ha!!

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  27. THANK YOU!!! Gosh, does that ever bug me. It's basic grade school stuff people! How can you forget it!

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  28. I commented on twitter the other day and when I was scrolling through my tweets I happened to notice I used there for they're and I immediately wanted to hide under my desk!

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  29. So I'm going to go ahead and admit I usually stalk your blog without commenting, which I know is really annoying as a blogger but we all do it. However, the time is now right that I am commenting to tell you how much I LOVE THIS POST.
    I can not stand when people use any of these incorrectly and I notice it every time... I feel a little bit over aggressive but honestly, it almost makes my blood boil when I see people use them incorrectly.

    Why? Why and how? Where were they the day we learnt this at school? Where have they been their entire lives when it's consistently used correctly in newspapers, books, etc. so they CAN learn the correct instances for each variation?

    Agh.... I am going to stop before I hijack your comments with a ridiculously long one. But anyway, THANK YOU for posting this and allowing me to vent a little bit about it ;).

    Kate | Diaries of a Essex Girl

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  30. Two words...
    THANK YOU!
    it really is very simple...here here!! (note, not hear,hear!)
    Sarah :)

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  31. Have to agree with you here - drives me crazy you have no idea how many times I correct peoples grammar in the office daily. Makes me want to cry!
    x

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  32. I understand that people have a hard time spelling, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves. no excuse.

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  33. haha Idid a post like this once before, too! I'm a huge grammar nerd

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  34. I could not agree more with this post and sadly girly, I AM ONE OF THOSE people that use it incorrectly sometimes. Please don't hate me! You are designing my blog now so I want it to look pretty, hehe :)

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  35. Can we talk about how much of a pet peeve this is of mine!! OH.MY.GOSH. Seriously, I want to claw my eyes out... how can such educated people still not know this! I cannot thank you enough for posting this, I'm going to start referring people to this post.

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  36. Yes! I actually have this same topic in one of my blog posts, written for a rainy day (when I can't think of anything to post about). It's one of those topics that needs to come up often, because like you it drives me crazy to see this constantly all over the web. Not sure if it is because of auto correct or not, but people really need to double check their grammar!

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  37. OOOOHH I will have to participate! My Birthday is Halloween ;)

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  38. I'm not sure why I found this so funny, maybe because i'm forever correcting everyone in their text messages even though we all have AUTO-CORRECT! LOL! Thanks Sarah!

    xo Jess

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  39. THANK YOU for the PSA! Drives me NUTS. I feel like you could do this every week with different grammar errors. Then again, I would HOPE most bloggers wold know the difference.

    -AJ
    FitTravelerAJ.com

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  40. these types of people should be f'ing slapped.

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  41. OMG thank you! I cringe every time I see "your welcome." Unless someone is telling me "your welcome speech was the best I've ever heard," I'm pretty sure THEY'RE actually trying to say "you ARE welcome." That's a contraction. Thanks bye. {insert angry emoji here}

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  42. I blogged about this recently. Why can't people get it? It's not that hard.

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